limbo

'limbo' cover . 2024

'limbo' page 1 . 2024

'limbo' page 2 . 2024

'limbo' page 3 . 2024

'limbo' page 4 . 2024

'limbo' page 5 . 2024

'limbo' page 6 . 2024

'limbo' page 7 . 2024

'limbo' page 8 . 2024

'limbo' . 2024

here's a short comic titled 'limbo', created by me and adapted by azim al ghussein.

originally created in 2005 as a junior in university, 'limbo' was a response to an assigned class reading in one of my courses. i don't remember much from that time, other than my introduction and fascination to studio ghibli films, specifically 'princess mononoke', as well as listening to kylie minogue's song 'limbo' (from her underrated 'impossible princess' album) on repeat! both heavily influenced me at the time while working on this story.

cut to almost 20 years later, clearing out my studio after being evicted, and finding my project tucked away in one of the many bags amongst the mess! looking at it after all these years, i was quite embarrassed by it! however, azim disagreed, and felt the urge to give a go at reinterpreting my story from long ago.

we launched 'limbo' at this year's focal point art book fair by the sharjah art foundation, at our 'great + everlasting' table. in pure azim fashion, he made 'limbo' so much better that the original with his added touch! i'm really proud of this collaboration. thank you azim for your greatness!

reach out if you'd like a copy of 'limbo'. and stay tuned for upcoming announcements once stocked in shops around town!

happy reading! and ending this post with images of the original comic from 2005. it's always interesting seeing works done in the past by younger versions of ourselves...

'limbo' page 1 . 2005

'limbo' page 2 . 2005

'limbo' page 3 . 2005

'limbo' page 4 . 2005

'limbo' page 5 . 2005

'limbo' page 6 . 2005

'limbo' page 7 . 2005

my first toyo

my first toyo (page 1) . 2024

my first toyo (page 2) . 2024

my first toyo (page 3) . 2024

my first toyo (page 4) . 2024

my first toyo (page 5) . 2024

my first toyo (page 6) . 2024

it's that time of year again – a newly published short comic in the sixth volume of 'corniche', the annual comics anthology by the sharjah art foundation. this year's story is inspired by saying goodbye and letting go of my twenty year old car. i loved my silver, two door toyota prado – a car that has been with me since i turned eighteen way back in 2003, and stayed through all the good and bad of the last two decades. just like a member of the family, it saw me grow into early adulthood, and never let me down. it was quite emotional letting go, finally putting it to rest earlier this year, after all the countless drives and memories. but it had to be done – maintaining the car over the last few years was getting more and more difficult!
'my first toyo' is a short comic commemorating the first car i ever owned, and the journey we went on together through the years. spoiler (not): it's not your average car in the comic, but a flying cat-shaped vehicle instead! mainly because i suck at drawing cars, but also because it never felt like just a car, but a best friend who was always there...
as always, a big thank you goes to the corniche team – thank you nasir nasrallah and mouza al hamrani, for having me published in every volume so far, and for the opportunity to share my stories...
make sure to grab a copy of 'corniche 6' (as well as past volumes), now available via the sharjah art foundation's shop.
ending my post with a gif of 'my first toyo' published in 'corniche 6', with beautiful cover artwork by nasir nasrallah. happy reading...
 

my first toyo published in corniche 6 . 2024

great + everlasting ... back, back, back again

'great + everlasting' at focal point sharjah art book fair . 2024

we're baaaaaaaack...! after an eight year hiatus (see 2016 post here), azim al ghussein and i are back once again as 'great + everlasting', participating in this year's edition of the focal point sharjah art book fair! 

as some might know, focal point is my only favourite annual cultural event in town. after visiting the fair for all these years, i'm so happy to announce my participation in it's seventh edition.

azim and i will be selling our printed and illustrated fancies, including zines, short comics and prints old and new. alongside our printed matter, we're also happy to have works for sale by people from the great + everlasting community – including big sis hind mezaina, full special studio's very own diego mendoza, melhem hasan and tribe photo magazine.

make sure to pass by focal point from 22 – 24 november, between 5 – 10 pm, at baid obaid al shamsi in sharjah. for full details about the fair, as well as scheduled programming, please check out the focal point page here.

see you all at focal point!

discover dubai

'discover dubai' illustrations . 2024

here are a series of illustrations i recently worked on for google arts & culture! 

in partnership with the dubai culture and arts authority, google arts & culture has launched a webpage designated to discovering the 'heartbeat of dubai' – highlighting the city's art scene, cultural heritage and urban communities. i was approached by the google team to work on illustrations that compliments the content on the 'discover dubai' page, as well as coming up with a colour palette for the webpage and illustrations. i'm really happy with these drawings, illustrating what i really enjoy about my city.

ending this short post with a big thank you to the google team for reaching out and having me be a part of this project. and without further ado, check out the 'discover dubai' page here!

karak run

karak run panel 1 . 2024

karak run panel 2 . 2024

karak run panel 3 . 2024

karak run panel 4 . 2024

karak run panel 5 . 2024

karak run panel 6 . 2024

karak run panel 7 . 2024

karak run panel 8 . 2024

i'm finally able to share with you my latest short comic 'karak run'!

around the summer of last year, i was invited by sarah nesti willard to be a part of her research on gulf comics and graphic narratives, focusing on the united arab emirates. since the beginning of this year, i've participated in exhibitions curated by sarah showcasing works by comic artists and illustrators from the uae. so far, my earlier works have traveled for exhibitions in italy and spain. and this month, the comic above will be exhibited at home in abu dhabi.

'karak run' is a simple story of an elderly emirati woman in the search of a cup of karak! it's also commentary on the coffee culture boom that's taken over in recent years! as a coffee drinker myself, i love having all the options in town. but sometimes all you need is a good ol' cup of karak! i also think it's a story about the challenge of moving forward amongst constant change, a topic i discussed in my previous post (see here).

i'm really proud of how this comic turned out, and i hope whoever's reading this enjoys it too! if you want to look at this comic away from your screen, i highly recommend checking out the group exhibition 'emirati comics' which opens today (21 september) at manarat al saadiyat in abu dhabi, and runs until 12 october. head to the exhibition page here for more information on the show, participating artists, and programming.

thank you sarah for having me involved in your research so far. if you want to know more on her research, i suggest following the project's instagram page.

ending this post with an illustration of my comics heroine! i don't have a name for her yet – any recommendations are welcome... 

karak run character . 2024